"In Inter Milan, there was a rule, or rather a law:

"In Inter Milan, there was a rule, or rather a law:

'If we lose two consecutive matches, our weekly salaries will be delayed until we regain our form.'

But Mario Balotelli defied this rule.

One day, we lost a cup match and a Serie A match within three days, so we all knew our weekly salaries would be delayed.

During training, Balotelli was missing. Mourinho tried to contact him, but there was no response.

Half an hour later, the president arrived with Balotelli, visibly angry, and said:

'Does Mario really understand Italian?'

We said, 'Yes,' but he came to my office looking for his money. I told him it was two consecutive losses, so the salaries would be delayed. He told me he didn’t care if it was 100 consecutive losses; he just wanted his money.

Mario said to him:

'I am not part of your problem. Don’t involve me in matters that don’t concern me.'

Everyone, including Mourinho, was silent.

Then the president told us:

'From now on, I will pay everyone.'

We were paid for the first time after two consecutive losses, and then we started passing the ball to him more so he could score because he fought for us and stood up to the president."